Category Archives: black hair

Beauty, black hair, cancer, Conversations, FYI, Hair Care, Healthcare, In the Know

Recent Reports about Hair Straighteners & Uterine Cancer

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Disconcerting information about uterine cancer – a rare type of cancer, has resurfaced in the news recently. A study from the National Institutes of Health revealed that women who use hair straightening products at least 4 times a year are twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.

And, Black Women are at a higher risk. Below are some key points listed in the article. Use the source links in this post to get a detailed description of the study.

Key Points

  • Uterine cancer is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer in women around the world.
  • A new study from the National Institutes of Health has found that women who use hair straightening products are twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who do not.
  • Researchers believe Black women may be at increased risk due to a higher usage rate of hair straightening products.
    Source: Uterine cancer: Chemical hair straighteners double risk (medicalnewstoday.com)

The information is both important and disturbing. After reading the articles, you may want to consult your care providers for more information and recommendations specific to your personal circumstances. One question, which comes to mind is does the study indicate that other types of cancer may also be attributed to hair straighteners?

Additional Source:
WEBMD HEALTH NEWS,  Article written by Lisa O’Mary
https://www.webmd.com/beauty/news/20221018/hair-straightening-products-linked-uterine-cancer-risk-study

The harmful ingredients in hair straightening products are:

  • Ammonium thioglycolate (found in relaxer/straightener products that do not use lye)
  • Guanidine hydroxide (found in relaxer/straightener products that do not use lye)
  • Mineral oil
  • Polyethylene glycol
  • Sodium hydroxide (found in relaxer/straightener products that use lye)
    Source: medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002706.htm

All the best in Wellness!

Bald Head Care, Beauty, Beauty Change, black hair, Causes of Hair Loss, Conversations, Hair Loss Tips

The Hair Loss Conversation

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I am struck so much by the unfortunate display of sadness about the alopecia conversation. I started the HairBlues.me blog 10 years ago, and still, after all this time, women, and I might add, men, and children continue to be troubled by this condition. That’s why the Alopecia industry is such a big industry: wigs, solutions, and potions that promise delivery of new locks.
When you find a moment, listen to my brief podcast about this challenge.

This podcast is available on Apple podcast, Google podcast, and other platforms of your choice. 
Just click this link to select:
https://anchor.fm/judith-guerra7.

We can get to the moon, but we have not solved this problem yet – unless we accept that “beauty” comes in all forms. The sooner we get in touch with that the sooner we will not find ourselves witnessing painful incidents of what is pre-determined as “beauty” by how one’s hair grows and looks.

Womens Hair Loss Project:
https://www.womenshairlossproject.com/acceptance/living-free-with-hair-loss/

By the way, does anyone remember the beautiful Black women in the Black Panther film who are bald?

Following is a post that I wrote on this blog March 2013 about hair loss.

Continue reading The Hair Loss Conversation →
Beauty, black hair, Conversations, Hair Care, sunscreen

SPF HAIR, Beauty & Wellness

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Photo by nappy from Pexels

Have you ever thought about using SPF on your hair during the months when you may be spending a lot of time on the beach, playing tennis, or just being outdoors during sunny days? Probably not.

It turns out that SPF for haircare is something we should pay attention to. Not only should we protect our bodies, we should also spray sunscreen on our scalps.

Hairblues has discussed this topic before, but I can not say it often enough. People of color NEED to use SUNSCREEN. See the excerpt below for details.

Health experts advise everyone, regardless of skin color, to use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. Although dark-skinned people won’t get sunburned as quickly, they will still burn and are still susceptible to sun-induced damage—such as sun spots and wrinkles—and cancer .
True or False: Dark-skinned People Don’t Need Sunscreen … True or False: Dark-skinned People Don’t Need Sunscreen | Winchester Hospital

As the Cancer Foundation states:
“Everyone under the sun needs to use sunscreen“.

“If you use an SPF 30 product properly, it would take you 30 times longer to burn than if you used no sunscreen“.

This includes children and babies.



Reminder you want to purchase products that do not have Oxybenzone and Octinoxate

Continue reading SPF HAIR, Beauty & Wellness →
Beauty, black hair

Black Beauties Celebrate Black History Month

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canstockphoto4506025[1]For too many generations, beautiful black women worried whether their beauty was something to celebrate.  As a matter of fact, for too long their hair was thought by some to be  a source of embarrassment! canstockphoto15964695[1] Oh my goodness, get caught in the rain and get it wet!  What a disaster!  Flash forward . And how wonderful it is to see today’s young, old, beautiful black women of  many hues celebrate their hair, as well as their beautiful diversity. With that said, as we celebrate African-American beauty, we will bring you tips for taking ‘beautiful’ care of yourself, including your hair.

Click the picture below to see 12 Beauty Blogs for Natural Hair

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Beauty, Beauty Change, black hair, HairBlues POV

Can Black (Kinky) Hair Be Beautiful?

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Sometimes at HairBlues I like to take a “time-out” to focus on a particular topic: today’s pause is to consider (again) “what is considered Beauty”?  In other posts I have discussed “Bald” as a beauty statement, and “how to deal with making your hair loss beautiful”.  We’ve focused on weaves and wigs as beauty statements. In this post the focus is  on African-American (Kinky Hair), and where we are as women who wear this hairstyle as a fashion and beauty statement.

Everywhere I go these days I see beautiful  natural (kinky) hairstyles worn by both  young and mature black women.  As a baby boomer, I am only a little jealous that many of those styles had not been thought of when I first strutted my Afro hairstyle :).  But, after more than 40 years since black women freed themselves from the stigma of having “bad” hair, and James Brown (the Godfather of soul) made it clear that being Black was something to be proud of (which included natural, unprocessed or straightened hair worn by black women) this discussion is still going on – that is to say – black hair not traditionally combed is not necessarily considered a thing of beauty on black women.

What a wonderful thing that black women have progressed even further to feeling comfortable with “wash & wearing” their hair without combing it out.  I remember when I first did that over 30 years ago how mortified my Mom (rest her soul) was that I was going outside without “picking” my hair out.

Nowadays it warms my heart every time I see a young woman who has the freedom and courage to wear her “natural” hair.  But, is there a price she is going to pay for doing that? Apparently, the answer is YES – for some black women. However, an article by Demetria L. Lucas, “Why Does My Natural Hair Get No Love”, published on The Root (http://www.theroot.com),  suggests that oftentimes our conclusions about “not getting any love for natural hair” may need self-reflection, as well as self-reliance.

At Hairblues we agree:  Beauty after all is not only in the eye of the beholder, but in the heart and mind of the “Beheld”.

See you at the next post!